Production of lubricating oils



I Patented Dec. 24, 1935 PRODUCTION OF LUBRICATING OILS Hermann Zorn and Gerhardt Hofmann, Ludwigshafen-on-the-Rhine, and Walter Rosinsky,

Oppau, Germany, assignors to I. G. Farbenindustrie Aktiengesellschaft,

Main, Germany Frankfort-on-the- No Drawing. Applicati-en November 25,'l932, Serial No. 644,324. In @rermany Elecember 3,

10 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in the production of lubricating oils.

It has already been proposed to use fatty oils as such for lubricating purposes or to employ them in admixture with mineral lubricating oils. The fatty oils are, however, but little suited for continuous operation.

We have found that valuable lubricating oils having the character of mineral lubricating oils are obtained from vegetal, i. e. vegetable or animal, fatty substances, such as fats or fatty oils, by converting them into unsaturated products which are practically free from oxygen, i. e. which preferably contain not more than about 1 per cent of oxygen, and which contain either the same number of carbon atoms in the molecule as, or a smaller number thereof than, the initial materials, and then subjecting these products to condensation in the presence of condensing agents. The term condensation is to include also the polymerization for the purposes .of the present invention. The said condensation may also be effected together with other reactive substances, as for example hydrocarbons containing double carbon linkages in the molecule, such as aromatic hydrocarbons, liquid or gaseous olefines, mineral or tar oils or their conversion products. The said conversion of vegetal fatty substances into unsaturated products practically free from oxygen is effected at temperatures ranging between 300 and 500 C., preferably between 420 and 480 C. and preferably in the presence of catalysts having a splitting action, as for example copper, copper chromite and other compounds of copper, if desired together with other substances. Hydrogen may also be present in this treatment. This direct conversion into unsaturated hydrocarbons is usually effected under ordinary pressure, but also elevated pressures ranging up to 50 atmospheres may be employed. The unsaturated conversion products may also be prepared by heating the initial materials to temperatures between 200 and 300 C., preferably between 200 and 250 C., in the presence of hydrogen, at pressures ranging between and 300 atmospheres and while employing catalysts having a reducing action, as for example copper chromite, copper, mixtures of copper oxide and aluminium oxide, whereby the said materials are 50 converted into the alcohols corresponding to the fatty acids present, the alcohols then being dehydrated in the usual manner.

As the initial materials may be mentioned for example vegetable or animal fats or fatty oils, such as soya bean oil, olive oil, palm oil, bone oil 5 and the like. In order to prepare for example from soya bean oil the unsaturated conversion products which are practically free from oxygen, the procedure may be as follows;-

- The initial material, if desired with an addi- 10 tion of hydrogen and preferably in the presence of one of the aforesaid catalysts having a splitting action, as for example a mixture of the oxides of copper and aluminium, is heated to temperatures of from about 300 to 500 C. or more, 15 increased pressure being employed if desired.

The unsaturated hydrocarbon mixture obtained. from the vegetal fatty substances, if desired after removing any small amount of cleavage products containing oxygen, as for example acrolein, free 20 fatty acids and the like, and preferably after the addition of the beforementioned reactive products, as for example mineral oil, is condensed with'the usual condensing agents, in particular anhydrous halides of the Friedel-Crafts type. 25 such as aluminium chloride, zinc chloride, tin tetrachloride, boron fluoride and the like, at a temperature ranging between 0 and 200 C., preferably between 40 and C., to form valuable viscous oils. 30

The products obtained are viscous lubricating oils which are distinguished by a flat temperature-viscosity curve. They may be added to other lubricating oils in order to improve them.

The following examples will further illustrate 35 the nature of this invention, but the invention is not restricted to these examples. The parts are by weight.

Erample 1 100 parts of soya bean oil are led over a catalyst of copper and aluminium at 425 C. 80 parts of a product are obtained free from oxygen and boiling between 60 and 360 C. This is stirred for 2'hours at C. with an addition of 6 parts 45 of aluminium chloride. After decanting from' the sludge of aluminium chloride, a crude lubricating oil is obtained which when distilled up to a temperature of C. at 1 millimetre (mercury gauge) yields 20 parts of an oil as first runnings 50 and leaves behind 57 parts of an oil having a viscosity of 18.7 Engler at 38 C. and 22 Engler at 99 C.

Example 2 100 parts of soya bean oil together with hydrogen are led at 450 C. over a catalyst of copper oxide. '75 parts of a green fluorescent product are obtained which are stirred for an hour at C. with 3 per cent of aluminium chloride, mixed with double the amount of a fraction of a German petroleum boiling between 120 and 310 C. at 1 Example 3 100 parts of a mixture of olefines (obtained by the dehydration in the usual manner of the mixture of alcohols prepared by the catalytic destructive hydrogenation of olive oil at 200 atmospheres and 230 C. in the presence of copper chromite) are polymerized with 8 parts of anhydrous aluminium chloride for 1 hour at 120 C. .100 parts of a brown coal tar destructive hydrogenation product boiling between 220 and about 350 C. are .then introduced and the whole stirred for another hour at C. After separating off the deposited sludge of aluminium chloride and distilling off an oil as the first runnings, a lubricating oil is obtained having a viscosity of 182 Engler at 38 C. and 23 Engler at 99 C.

What we claim is:-

1. A processfor the production of lubricating oils which comprises reacting with a condensing agent at a condensing temperature unsaturated having .a splitting action, and (b) treatment with added hydrogen at a temperature between 200 and 300 C. under a pressure between 50 and 300 atmospheres in the presence of a catalyst having a reducing action, followed by dehydration of the resulting products.

2. A process for the production of lubricating oils which comprises reacting with an anhydrous halide of the Friedel-Crafts type at a condensing temperature unsaturated hydrocarbons practically free from. oxygen of the kind obtainable from a vegetal fatty substance by a treatment selected from the group consisting of (a) heating at a temperature between 300 and 500 C. in the presence of a catalyst having a splitting action, and (1)) treatment with added hydrogen at a temperatu e between 200 and 300 C. under a pressure between 50 and 300 atmospheres in the presence of a catalyst having a reducing action, followed by dehydration of the resulting products.

3. A process for the production of lubricating oils which comprises reacting with an anhydrous halide of the Friedel-Crafts type at a temperature between 0 and 200 C. unsaturated hydrocarbons practically free from oxygen of the kind obtainable from a vegetal fatty substance by a treatment selected from the group consisting of (a) heating at a temperature between 300 and 500- C. in the presence of a catalyst having asplitting action, and (b) treatment with added hydrogen at a temperature between 200 and 300 C. under a pressure between 50 and 300 atmospheres in the presence of a catalyst having a re- 5 ducing action, followed by dehydration of the resulting products.

4. A process for the production of lubricating oils which comprises reacting with an anhydrous halide of the Friedel-Crafts type at a temperature 10 between 40 and C. unsaturated hydrocarbons practically free from oxygen of the kind obtainable from a vegetal fatty substance by a treatment selected from the group consisting of (a) heating at a temperature between 300 and 15 500 C. in the presence of a catalyst having a splitting action, and (22) treatment with added hydrogen at a temperature between 200 and 300 C. under a pressure between 50 and 300 atmospheres in the presence of a catalyst having 0 a reducing action, followed by dehydration of the resulting products.

5. A process for the production of lubricating oils which comprises reacting with a condensing agent at a condensing temperature and in the 25 presence of another reactive hydrocarbon substance, unsaturated hydrocarbons practically free from oxygen of the kind obtainable from a vegetal fatty substance by a treatment selected from the group consisting of (a) heating at a temperature 30 between 300 and 500 C. in the presencepf a catalyst having asplitting action, and (b) treatment with added hydrogen at a temperature between 200 and 300 C. under a pressure between 50 and 300 atmospheres in the presence of a 35 catalyst having a reducing action, followed by dehydration of the'resulting products.

6. A process for the production of lubricating oils which comprises reacting with a condensing agent at a condensing temperature unsaturated 40 hydrocarbons practically free from oxygen obtained by treating a vegetal fatty substance with added hydrogen at a temperature between 200 and 300 C. under a pressure between 50 and 300 atmospheres in the presence of a catalyst having a reducing action, followed by dehydration of the resulting products.

7. A process for the production of lubricating oils which comprises reacting with an anhydrous halide of the Friedel-Crafts type at a condensing temperature unsaturated hydrocarbons practically free" from oxygen obtained by treating a vegetal fatty substance with added hydrogen at a temperature between 200 and 300 C. under a 5 pressure between 50 and 300 atmospheres in the presence of a catalyst having a reducing action, followed by dehydration of the resulting products.

8. A process for the production of lubricating oils which comprises reacting with an anhydrous halide of the Friedel-Crafts type at a. temperature between 0 and 200 C. unsaturated hydrocarbons practically free from oxygen obtained by treating a vegetal fatty substance with added hydrogen at a temperature between 200 and 65 300 C. under a pressure between 50 and 300 atmospheres in the presence of a catalyst having a reducing action, followed by dehydration of the resulting products.

9. A process for the production of lubricating oils which comprises reacting with an anhydrous halide or" the Friedel-Crafts type at a temperature between 40 and 100 C. unsaturated hydrocarbons practically free from oxygen obtained by treating a vegetal fatty substance with added 75 hydrogen at a temperature between 200' and 300 C. under a pressure between 50 and 300 atmospheres in the presence of a catalyst havin: a reducing action, followed by dehydration of the 5 resulting products.

' 10. A process for the production of lubricating oils which comprises vreactin z with a condensin: agent at a condensing temperature and in the presence of, another reactive hydrocarbon sublo stance, unsaturated hydrocarbons practically free from omen obtained by treating a vezetal fatty substance with added hydrogen at a temperature between 200 and 300' C. under'a pressure between 50 and 300 atmospheres in the presence'of a catalyst having a reducin: action, followed by dehydration of the resultin: products., I

HERMAN 'ZORN. GIRHARDT HOFMANN. WALTER ROBINS. 

